Board 3: Bar noise to urban planning, tackling tough issues on the East Side

Community Board 3 has been a part of the discussion on many important issues in the last year, from the redevelopment of the Lower East waterfront and the remainder of the Seward Park Urban Renewal Zone to trying to find a solution to the intractable problem of noisy nightlife.

The boards district covers the area south of 14th St., east of the Bowery/Fourth Ave., down to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Harvey Epstein, the boards chairperson, said that among the recent highlights of the board have been its involvement in the early discussions on how to revamp the East Sides dilapidated former working waterfront and the boards resolution on the State Liquor Authority. The boards S.L.A. resolution was that it would issue a blanket denial to liquor-license applications from bars, nightclubs and restaurants in areas the board considers oversaturated with nightlife spots, such as parts of St. Marks Pl., Avenue A, Orchard St. and Ludlow St., among others. A board-sponsored forum on Nighttime Noise will be held Apr. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St.

The board is also upgrading its communications systems, so that people can e-mail the district manager and committee chairpersons  really important stuff, which takes a lot of work and resources to set up, Epstein noted.

Speaking of the district manager, Martha Danziger, the boards longtime D.M., will be leaving in May. Epstein said the board has received about 100 applications to fill her shoes  which are big, to say the least.

C.B. 3 will continue to tackle issues as they arise, said Epstein, who was able to grab a few minutes for a phone interview before himself interviewing some job applicants at Housing Conservation Coordinators, a Hells Kitchen tenants advocacy group, where he is associate director.

Things percolate all the time. The Boys Club is still out there, the CHARAS site, he said, of to two controversial possible development locations. Getting several projects headed in the right direction is a yeomans task. You know, were all volunteers. If we can get one or two of these projects moving forward in the next year, its a big victory.